Blog post by Agata Kostrzewa At this point, I’ve already been here in Veszto for five weeks. My student project is almost finished, and I’m kind of sad that we’re almost done. I really enjoyed my time with the BAKOTA project and the company of all these amazing people, both the mentors/experts and students involved in the project. I’m getting sentimental so I probably should stop now. I know that as you are reading this post the project will have been over for a few weeks, but in this moment we are still here and we only have four more days! Anyway, I should start from the beginning. I…
Blog post by Kayla Pio No, thats not a washing machine or some gold-mining contraption. That is our lovely flotation machine here at the BAKOTA project. It helps us collect burned prehistoric seeds and wood. This material is usually too small to recover during excavation. However, because these botanical remains have very low densities, they float and become almost instantly visible in basins of water. In order to work, one needs to efficiently get the soil, which desperately clings to this material and weighs it down, broken up and detached. Thats where the flotation machine comes in and works its magic–at least, when its engine is in the mood…
Blog post by Francisco Diaz This was my first archaeological field experience and first time in Europe. I did not encounter many mummies, giant boulders, or venomous snakes, but there has been plenty of adventure and I have gained a wealth of knowledge. When I saw the varied techniques that are used in research and excavation, I realized that archaeology is like a mosaic, with each little component being a smaller part of what is hopefully a bigger, beautiful picture. Other pieces of that mosaic concerning techniques with bones, ceramics etc. will hopefully be covered on this blog by my colleagues. As for myself, my small, (but hopefully nice…
How’s your summer vacation going? Lazy? Watching TV or playing PS4? Or maybe on a tropical island? Are you interested in learning about what our holiday is like? We have sun, sometimes too much. We have a pool that we are able to swim in when we are free (which is not very often). The most important thing, however, is that we were given the opportunity to participate in the Bronze Age Körös Off Tell Archaeological (BAKOTA) project, which is conducted in Békés County in Eastern Hungary. So what is our wonderful adventure like? This summer we have had the chance to gain precious new experience and the chance…
By Alana Acuff, Matthew Capece, and Tucker Hlad Hello from the ‘Boney Team’—us students who are working on osteology projects. We— Matt, Tucker, and Alana—would like to give you a glimpse into a day in the life of microexcavating burial urns from Békés 103. The information gained from this analysis will help us gain insight into the lives (and deaths) of the individuals of the Middle Bronze Age who called the Körös region of Hungary home Microexcavation is the excavation of the contents of urns. We start by removing the burials from the field, and then painstakingly scratching away at the compacted earth inside to reveal the human remains…
By Pranavi Ramireddy After a couple of weeks of hard work, getting settled into our projects, and meeting the Pecica crew for the first time at the pig killing, we made our way to visit their site in Romania. Assured an adventure, half of the students set out by train from Vésztö to Pecica on a day that promised to be 100 degrees. The rest of us packed up and headed out a few hours later with our sights set on the pit stop at Tesco in Békéscsaba. To my surprise, we found Cheetos and Dr. Pepper, so needless to say it was a successful junk food run. Laci…
Out of the many students and mentors that have become part of the BAKOTA project this year, there are a few students that have taken on ceramic centralized projects aided by the different mentors shedding light on the many facts surrounding ceramics. Bks 103, so far, is primarily a cremation based cemetery dating back to the Bronze Age with the ceramics providing answers and key pieces of information through chemical, spatial, and comparative analysis. Ceramics, with their many variations, can be essential in understanding the inner workings of a cemetery. Was there ceramic trading? Did the clay come from a river close by or far away? A cemetery can answer…
~Greetings from your 2015 Block Captains! The first week here on the BAKOTA project so far has been a very hot one, but also a great one filled with a lot of hard work! Our job as a Block Captain is to act as a leader for our team of students and ensure proper protocols are followed within our blocks. Each captain has her own block and a variety of students to aid in the excavation process. In addition, one of our more important jobs is to keep track and complete all of the proper documentation for everything that goes on in our block. As things are just starting…
~ a blog by Kylie Williamson The 2015 field season is officially underway! The directors have been hard at work over the last week or so, and all of the students have found their way to Vésztö. With the addition of more undergraduates for the field school, we are now staying in two different locations. The directors and a few graduate students will be staying at the Panzio, like in previous years. The rest of us will be at the Pap-Tanya, or the playground as they call it, which is about a 15-minute walk to the Panzio. The directors are envious of our pool, but the younger, more wired students…